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Prosecutors in These States Can Review Sentences They Deem Extreme. Few Do.
Loaded on Dec. 15, 2022
by Charlie Lee, Matt Nadel
published in Criminal Legal News
January, 2023, page 32
Filed under:
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines,
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).
Location:
United States of America.
Five states now allow prosecutors to seek shorter sentences in old cases. Louisiana shows why many DAs haven’t.
by Matt Nadel and Charlie Lee
It had been a long day of mowing brush in the Louisiana heat, so Jeffrey Fornea and his 69-year-old father rested on their …
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More from this issue:
- False Confession Generator: How Accusatorial Interrogations Undermine the Pursuit of Justice, by Anthony Accurso
- Arizona Supreme Court Announces Jury Unanimity Required Regarding Narcotic Type Under Possession Statute, by Anthony Accurso
- Against the Flow: How the National Registry of Exonerations Is Working to Turn the Tide of Wrongful Convictions Across U.S., by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts May Consider First Step Act’s Non-Retroactive Changes to Sentencing Law When Deciding Motion for Compassionate Release, by Douglas Ankney
- Across the Nation, Cops Use ‘Fog Reveal’ to Track More Than 250 Million Mobile Devices, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit Reverses Denial of Habeas Relief Where District Court Found Batson Error but Observed AEDPA, Deferred to State Court’s Finding that No Batson Error Occurred, by Douglas Ankney
- Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise an Actual Innocence Claim, by Dale Chappell
- Second Circuit Announces District Courts Must Provide Habeas Petitioners with Notice and Opportunity To Be Heard Before Dismissing Petition Sua Sponte Based on Stone’s Limitation on Fourth Amendment Claims, by Douglas Ankney
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Criminal Record Alone Does Not Justify Patfrisk, Gun Discovered in Waistband Suppressed, by Jacob Barrett
- Third Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Reasonable Opportunity to File Sentencing Memo Before Resentencing Under First Step Act, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Denies Absolute Immunity for Prosecutor Who Fabricated Evidence in Murder Conviction and Death Sentence, by Douglas Ankney
- Prosecutors in These States Can Review Sentences They Deem Extreme. Few Do., by Charlie Lee, Matt Nadel
- Fourth Circuit Announces Substantive Reasonableness Review Applies to All Proceedings Under § 404 of First Step Act, Regardless of Whether Motion Is Granted or Denied, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Announces Criminal Forfeiture Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(b) Is Mandatory Claims-Processing Rule, Reverses $62.5 Million Money Judgments, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court: Police Officer’s ‘Hunches’ Cannot Establish Probable Cause, Determination Requires Consideration of Facts Weighing in Favor and Against Probable Cause, by Anthony Accurso
- Kentucky Supreme Court Announces Obtaining Real-Time CSLI Data Constitutes a Search Under Fourth Amendment, Addressing Legal Question U.S. Supreme Court Explicitly Left Open in Carpenter, by Anthony Accurso
- New York Court of Appeals Reverses Murder Conviction Where Trial Court’s Evidentiary Rulings Deprived Defendant of ‘Opportunity to Present Complete Defense’, by Douglas Ankney
- Miami Police Officer Who Broke ‘Blue Code of Silence’ Being Investigated, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit: District Court Erred in Denying Government’s Motion to Dismiss Charges as Part of Plea Agreement, by David Reutter
- NIST’s Upgrade to Software Reference Library Makes Data More Accessible to Law Enforcement, by Douglas Ankney
- For $10 Billion, New Yorkers Get a Police Package Deal That Includes Corrupt Career Officers and Almost 1,000 Criminal Cases Tossed, by Douglas Ankney
- Indiana Supreme Court Announces Trial Rule 26(B)(3) Governs Whether Police Reports Are Protected Work Product, Expressly Overruling Keaton, by Douglas Ankney
- Variability in Records Requests Obscures Police Use of Surveillance, by Anthony Accurso
- U.S. Senator to Federal Agency: Investigate Abusive Use of Administrative Subpoena Power to Gather Bulk Financial Records, by Casey Bastian
- Fog Data Science, Your Hometown Data Broker, by Anthony Accurso
- Due Processless Civil Asset Forfeitures in Houston, Texas, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
More from Charlie Lee:
More from Matt Nadel:
More from these topics:
- Tenth Circuit Announces Resentencing After Probation Revocation Must Begin with Chapter 7 Range, Holding Chapter 5 Range Should Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Vary, Sept. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statement of Reasons, Sentence, Factors To Be Considered.
- Relevant Conduct: How Federal Sentencing Law Punishes More Than the Crime of Conviction, Aug. 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Plain Error, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts, Relevant Conduct.
- Retroactive Guideline Amendments: The Narrow Path to a Federal Sentence Reduction, July 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Career Offenders, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), Guideline Amendment/Variances and Retroactivity.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Alternative Sentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Drug Quantity.
- First Circuit Vacates Drug Courier’s Sentence, Holding District Court Erred by Failing to Conduct Proper Comparative Culpability Analysis Under § 3B1.2 When It Excluded Other Participants in Drug Shipment From Universe of Comparators, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Appellate Jurisdiction/Review, Sentencing Findings, Relevant Conduct.
- Sixth Circuit Announces Federal Coercion and Enticement Statute Requires Knowledge of Victim’s Minor Status, Deepening Circuit Split, May 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
- Tenth Circuit Holds Prior California Child Pornography Conviction Does Not Trigger Federal Mandatory Minimum Because State Statute Encompasses Conduct Beyond Federal Definition Under Categorical Approach, April 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Qualifying Offenses, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Child Pornography.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway, March 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
- First Circuit Clarifies Mitigating Role Analysis – Sentencing Courts Must Consider All Identifiable Participants in Drug Shipment, Not Just Crew Members, and Use § 3B1.2 Factors to Assess Relative Culpability, Not Guilt, Dec. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
